Printing-machine.



No. 800,477. PATENTED SEPT.- 26, 1905.

T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET l.

No. 800,477. PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905. T. M NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE,

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 800,477. I PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905.

T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28. 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Fig.5.

ITO-800,477. f PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905. T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION 11.31) NOV. 28, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.-

No. 800,477. PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905. T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

No. 800,477. PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905. T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.2B,1904.

8 SHEETSSHEET 7.

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' No. 800,477. PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1 905.

T. M. NORTH.

PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 28, 1904.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

1%, 2w. 5 "If/M4 [MM P WW UNITED STATES, PATENT orrroa;

THOMAS M. NORTH, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO LINOTYPE AND MACHINERY LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

PRINTING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1905.

Application filed November 28, 1904. Serial No. 234,555.

vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

ries of printing-machines through the tripping mechanism of each, so that they can be untripped-2'. 0., put into printing operationor trippedi. 0., put'out of printing opera-l illOn-1I1 regular sequence and at proper and 5 regular intervals, the object being to adapt them to print a multicolor job, each color of which is a separate impression from one of the couples, direct on to the same sheet that receives the complete impression, and which sheet is fed into the first couple of the series and carried through the latter at a regular: rate by the several sheet feeding and delivery apparatus. The invention also includes means by which one or more of the couples can be driven independently of the others or other, thereby enabling them to deal with separate single-color jobs or with multicolor jobs of fewer colors than there are couples in the se-' 'ries or with jobs of both classes at the same time.

The expression printing-couple is to be understood as meaning either a combination of form and impression cylinders or an impression-cylinder and its flat-bed form.

In the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as part of this specification and read therewith, Figure 1 is an elevation of the feeder side, and Fig. 2 a plan, both treated diagrammatically, of three printing-machines connected together according to the present invention. Fig. 3 is an elevation also of the feeder side, showing, on a larger scale than that to which Fig. 1 is drawn, those of the present improvements which are applied to the second or No. II machine of the series represented in Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 4 and 5 are elevations of the driving and striking gear of one of the machines, Fig. 4 as seen from the side opposite to that represented in Fig. 1 or gear side, as it is hereinafter called, and Fig. 5 as seen from the right of Fig. 2 and left of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan of Fig. 41;. Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 a plan, of a portion of the trip mechanism of the No. II machine of the series shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 9 is a view of the trip mechanism, partly in rear end elevation and partly in transverse section, on the line 9 9 of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a sectional side elevation of the said trip mechanism, the section being taken on the line 10 10 of Fig. 9. This invention relates to improved means for controlling the printing-couples of a se- Figs. lland 12 are respectively a side elevation and a plan, showing means for enabling each of the printing-couples other than the first of the connected series to be tripped and untripped independently of the other couples; and Figs. 13, 1 1, 15, and 16 are detail views of parts of the ratchet mechanism hereinafter described, Figs. 13 and 14 being face views of the two ratchet-wheels separated from each other, Fig. 15 a face view of the said ratchet-wheels juxtaposed and in a position corresponding to that in which they are shown in Figs. and 10, and Fig. 16 an edge View of Fig. 15. r

The printing-couples, together with their feed and delivery apparatus, are arranged at regular distances apart, either in and upon independent machine-frames, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or in and upon a single machine-frame. In the example illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 there are represented three machines in the connected series, these for convenience being hereinafter referred to as the No. I, No. II, and No. III couples or machines, respectively. These numbers are also used as a means of readi1 y identifying different parts of the respective machines from similar parts of the other machines. It will be readily recognized that the invention is equally applicable to two or more than three machines connected in series. The feeder stands on the platform 4: of the No. I machine and works the trip-lever 5 thereof, and this is the only trip-lever which tomatically sends a mechanical impulse to the No. Ill couple, whose trip-lever 7 is thereby actuated to the same effect as was the No. II. triple\'er 6; but this third and automatic actuation does not take place until the first sheet (which by that time had received its second color in the No. II couple) has got into printing position in the third couple, and so on throughout the series, whatever the number of machines comprised therein, the transmission of the impulse above-mentioned keeping pace practically with the passage of the sheet through the series of couples.

The means employed to achieve the abovenamed object are as follows: A shaft 8, Figs. 1, 2, 4:, 5, and 6, is hung in suitable bearings (not shown in the drawings) lengthwise of the series of machines and either above it or, as represented in the drawings, below it, rotary motion being imparted to the said shaft by any convenient means. Adjacent to each of the printing-couples of the series two clutches 9 and 10 or 11 and 12 or 13 and 14, Fig. 1, of any ordinary construction, are provided on the shaft 8, the clutches 9, 11, and 13 being positive ones and the clutches 10, 12, and 161 being friction ones. Each positive clutch 9, 11, and 13 is capable of being engaged and disengaged by means of a vertical shaft 15 and an operating-handle 16, 4t, 5, and 6, fast to the said shaft, a pin 17 being provided for locking the said handle in either of its two positions. Each frictionclutch 10, 12, and 14: is capable of being engaged and disengaged by means of a vertical shaft 18, a lever-arm 19, and a rod 20, the latter extending from the gear side of the machine, at which the arms 19 are situated, to the feeder side thereof. If desired, the operating devices of the positive clutches 9, 11, and 13 may be connected through to the feeder side of the machines similarly to those of the friction-clutches 10, 12, and 14.

Each printing-couple is driven from the lineshaft 8 through miter-gears 21 22, a vertical shaft 23, and miter-gears 24 25. The gear 21 is formed, preferably, integral with the sleeve 26, which constitutes the loose member of both the positive and friction clutches 9 10 or 11 12 or 13 1 1, as the case may be, the other members of each of such pairs of clutches being feathered to the shaft 8 in the usual wellknown manner. Other gearing is interposed between the above-named miter-gears 25 and the respective printing-couples; but as this constitutes no part of the present invention no further reference is made thereto. The closing of the three positive clutches 9, 11, and 13 insures the driving of all the printing-couples at the certain coordinate relationships necessary for securing proper register of impression in the printing of a three-color job. Similarly the closing of the positive clutches of either Nos. I and II or II and III of the said couples to the exclusion of the third couple insures that those two printing-couples will be driven at the certain coordinated relationships necessary for securing proper register of im pression in the printing of a two-color job. For this purpose the positive clutches 9, 11, and 13 are what are known as one-point clutches capable of being engaged at only one definite point of their rotation.

A horizontal rod 27 or 28, mounted on suitable guid e-rollers 29, extends the former from the No. I to the No. II machine and the latter from the No. II to the N0. III machine and is capable of being reciprocated in the direction of its length. Consequently each rod 27 28 is in turn the member which communicates the impulse from one couple to the next following it in the series. It is assumed that, as ordinarily, each triplever 5 6 7 is untripped by the upward pull of a spring 30, which spring is released for the purpose (by the feeder in the case of the No. I couple, but automatically in the case of each of the other couples) and that the depression of the said lever trips the respective couple.

As it is necessary for the feeder to trip only the No. I. couple in order to secure the properly coordinated operation of that and the other couples of the connected series, only the No. I trip-lever 5 need be provided with a pedal 31. Fig. 1, and the corresponding pedals appertaining to the other couples may therefore be either removed, as shown in the drawings, or otherwise rendered ineffectual. As is usual, the pedal 31 passes through the platform 4 and is provided with means whereby it may be retained in its depressed position (in opposition to the pull of its spring 30) until the feeder releases it from such position, when the said spring 30 immediately pulls it up and untrips the couple No. I. In Fig. 1, which is the only figure in which the pedal 31 is shown, the said pedal is representedin the depressed position it occupies when the machines are tripped.

As the arrangement of all of the machines excepting the first of the series and the connection of such machines with the machine or machines preceding them in the series are practically identical in every respect, the following description of the No. II machine and of its relationship to the No. I machine will, except where otherwise particularly stated, equally well apply to the No. III machine and its relationship to the No. II machine and to any further machines that might be included in the series. a

To enable the No. I trip-lever 5 to communicate an impulse, as before mentioned, to the trip-gear of the No. II machine, it is connected to one end of the sliding rod 27 by a link 32, bell-crank lever 33, and arm 34:, the last named fast to the rod 27, so that when the said trip-lever 5 is depressed for directly tripping the No. I couple the rod 27 is moved longitudinally (toward the left of Figs. 1 and 2) to place the No. II trip-gear in the condition necessary for securing the subsequent tripping of the No. II couple at the desired time. At or near its opposite end (the left-hand end in Figs. 1 and 2) the rod 27 is cranked to pass behind the rod 28 (see 2 and 7) and has fixed thereon an arm 35, (see particularly Fig. 7,) engaging with the forked arm of a bell-crank lever 36, whose other arm is pivoted to the lower end of a link 37. The upper end of this link 37 is pivoted to an arm 38 of abell-crank lever 38 39, free to oscillate upon a shaft or stud 40, and whose other arm 39 is formed with a rounded head, as shown in Figs. 7 and 10, for a purpose hereinafter described. This head is hereinafter identified by the number 39. On each of the printing-machines after the first or No. I of the series a lever 41 is pivoted on a fixed stud 42 and is oscillated on this stud by the combined action of a cam 43 and spring 44, the said cam being secured on the shaft 45 of the impression-cylinder 46. To the lower end of the lever 41 is pivoted one end of a link 47, whose opposite end is similarly pivoted to an arm 48, adapted to freely oscillate upon the before-mentioned stud 40. On this stud there is mounted so as to be free to rotate a disk cam 49, formed integral with a friction-brake disk or pulley and having rigidly attached thereto two juxtaposed ratchet-disks 51 52, which are mutilated, or, in other words, have ratchet-teeth extending around only part (about one-half in the example shown) of their periphery, the remaining parts 53 54 of their respective peripheries (see particularly Figs. 13 and 14) being smooth to allow the pawls 55 56, by which these ratchet-disks are respectively operated, to move backward and forward without affecting the said disks. The two pawls 55 56 are conveniently formed integral with each other, and they are free to turn upon a stud 57, by which the before-mentioned link 47 and vibrating arm 48 are pivoted together. There is combined with the pawls 55 56 a pair of abutments 58 59, with which the before-described head 39 is adapted to engage, and an upstanding arm 60, to whose free end is pivoted the forked end of a rod 61, whose opposite end is free to slide through a guide or puppet 62, swiveled to the upper end of the before-described arm 48. Between the forked end of the rod 61 and the guide 62 and encircling the said rod is a helical compressionspring 63, which, conjointly with the arm 60, rod 61, and guide 62, serves as spring-toggle device for retaining the two pawls 55 56 in either of their respective operative positions until such time as it is necessary for them to be changed to the other of such positions.

As shown best in Fig. 7, the cam-disk 49 virtually consists of two substantially equal portions or segments of different radii, and it is adapted to act on the adjacent trip-lever 6 through an antifriction-roller 64, which is adjustably mounted on the said lever by means of a pivoted bracket 65, capable of being clamped to the trip-lever in any desired position of adjustment by a bolt and nut 66, the bolt of which passes through a slot in the said bracket.

To prevent reverse motion on the part of the cam 49 and the ratchet-disks 51 52, connected thereto, two spring-controlled pawls 67 68, pivoted to a bracket-arm 69, are adapted to engage the ratchet-disks 51 52, the said pawls, as shown in Fig. 9 with regard to the pawl 68, being each wide enough to engage with the teeth of both of the ratchet-disks.

To prevent the cam 49 and the ratchet-disks 51 52 from being carried around by the pressure of the spring 30 when the said cam presents either of the inclined or abruptly-curved parts 70 to the roller 64 of the trip-lever 6, a spring-controlled brake-shoe 71 is adapted to bear upon the periphery of the before-mentioned brake disk or pulley 50, as represented best in Fig. 10.

The No. II trip-lever 6 is connected to one end of the impulse-communicating rod 28 by a link 32, bell-crank lever 33, and arm 34 in precisely the same manner as is the No. I. trip-lever 5 connected to the rod 27, and, similarly, the opposite end, of the rod 28 is connected to the No. III trip-gear in precisely the same manner as is the rod 27 connected to the No. II trip-gear. As the No. III machine is the last of the connected series and it is therefore not called upon to effect control over the trip-gear of a further machine, its trip-lever 7 is not connected to an impulsecommunicating rod, as are the trip-levers 5 and 6 which precede it in the series.

The operation of the before-described apparatus is as follows: For convenience of description of such operation it is assumed that at the commencement thereof the pedal 31 is locked in its depressed position, all the couples are tripped, the couplings 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 disengaged, the shaft 8 is at rest, and that otherwise the apparatus is in the condition of adjustment in which it is represented in the drawings. All the couples are now brought by hand to the certain predetermined positions necessary for their giving their respective impressions in true register with each other, these positions being the only ones at which the positive couplings 9, 11, and 13 can be engaged or brought into operative position, the said positive couplings being what are known as onepoint couplings or otherwise arranged so as to obtain this end. The positive couplings are then brought into operative position and rotary motion imparted to the shaft 8, whereby all the impression-cylinders 46 are rotated and likewise the cams 43. The levers 41 are thus caused to oscillate on their pivots 42, and through them the pawls 55 56 are caused to swing through their working path;

ITO

but as only the mutilated or toothless parts ot' the several ratchet-wheels 51 are then presented to the respective then depressed pawls the said paivls have no cl'l'cct on these wheels. The feeder then releases the pedal 31, so that under the influence of the No. I spring 30 the No. I couple is untripped and an innpulse is communicated to the No. II couple, which impulse after a predetermined time will cause that couple to come into printing operation. So "far as relates to the No. I couple the above-named release and the consequent ascent of the pedal 31 has done no more than bring the said couple into printing condition, as in existing arrangements, but in relation to the No. II couple it has moved.

the rod 27 rightward, and thereby through the bell-crank lever 36, link 37, bell-crank lever 38 39, and abutment 59 appertaining to that couple lowered the pawl 56 thereof into its operative position in relation to the ratchetwheel The vibrations of the pawl 56 will thus cause the No. II cam 49 to be intermittently rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7. this rotary motion continuing until the mutilated or toothless part 54 of the ratchet-wheel 52 (see particularly Fig. 14) is presented to the pawl 56, at which juncture the cam 49 has presented its portion of shorter radius to the antit'riction-roller 64 and the adjacent spring 30 has drawn up the No. II trip-lever 6, and thereby untripped the No. II couple, this operation being timed to coincide with the automatic feeding of the sheet (which has already received its first impression from the No. I couple) into printing position in the said No. II couple. By the raising of the No. II trip-lever 6, as last described, to untrip the No. II couple the rod 28 is moved to the right. as was the rod 27 through the raising of the No. I trip-lever, and for a corresponding purpose the impulse communicated by the rod 28 serving to put the No. III couple into such condition as will secure its untripping when the sheet which has already received its first and second impressions in the Nos. I and II couples has got into printing position in the said No.I.IIcouple. IVhen the feeder depresses the pedal 31, and thereby directly trips the No. I couple, as ordinarily, this operation also causes the rod 27 to move leftward, and consequently causes the head 39 of the No. II bell-crank lever 38 39 to act on the abutment 58 and tilt the pawls 56 into the position in which they are represented in Fig. 10. By the vibrating motion imparted by the cam 43 the pawl 55, thus brought into its operative position, is caused to successively engage the teeth of the mutilated ratchetwheel 51, which, together with the cam 49, is thereby intermittently rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7. This motion continues until the mutilated or toothless part 53 of the wheel 51 is presented to the pawl 55, at which juncture also the part of the cam 49 having the longer radius is presented to the antifriction-roller 64, and the No. II triplever 6 is thereby depressed and the No. II couple consequently tripped. The depression of the No. II trip-lever 6 is instrumental in effecting the tripping of the No. III couple, as was the depression of the No. I trip-lever 5 instrumental in effecting the tripping of the No. II couple.

The number of teeth on each of the mutilated ratchet-wheels 51 53 depends upon the point from which the link is actuated by the couple to which it appertains. If, as in the example illustrated in the drawings, this point is the axis of a two-revolution impressioncylinder 46 and each sheet takes the time of three printed sheets to travel from one couple to the next, the necessary number of teeth on each wheelwill be the product of these two factors viz. ,six as best represented in Figs. 13 and 14. s

As before explained, the feeder is stationed at the No. I machine and can readily trip that machine when necessary -as, for example, when a sheet is not fed thereto and an impression would otherwise be made on the blanket; but after the sheet leaves No. I machine it passes beyond the direct supervision and control of the feeder, and should it misfeed to either of the subsequent machines the blanket thereof would receive the impression unless means were provided to prevent it. To overcome this difficulty, the Nos. II and III machines are each provided with the devices represented in Figs. 11 and 12, which enable either of such machines to be tripped and untripped without affecting the other machines. In this arrangement the cam 49 acts upon the spring-controlled triplever 6, not directly as in the before-described example, but through an intermediate lever 72, pivoted coaxially with the trip-lever 6 and adapted to engage the latter through a set-screw 73, adjustable in a lug 74, integral with the trip-lever, the intermediate lever 72 bearing upon the set-screw 73, as indicated clearly in Figs. 11 and 12, and being free to rock on the trip-shaft 7 4, whereas the triplever 6 is fast to the said trip-shaft. In the present example also the impulse-communieating rod 28 is connected not to the trip-lever 6, as in the preceding example, but to the intermediate lever 72, similar connecting devices being used in both of these examples. When it is required to trip, say, only the No. 11 machine of this last-described arrangement, all that is necessary is to manually depress the trip-lever 6 (this depression does not affect the intermediate lever 72) and by a suitable detent or otherwise retain it depressed until it is necessary to again untrip the machine, which latter operation is effected by releasing the trip-lever 6 to allow it to be raised by its spring 30.

ITO

In the foregoing description it has been explained that when the several machines are arranged to work in tandem, as illustrated in the drawings, all of the pedals, excepting the one appertaining to the No. I machine, are removed. If, however, these pedals are rendered ineffectual upon the control provided for by the No. I pedalas, for example, by having the locking devices by which they are retained in their depressed position rendered inoperative-the said further pedals may be retained in position.

When the series of machines are required for printing separate and independent jobs, they may be connected with the line-shaft 8 by the friction-clutches 10, 12, and 14:, as ordinarily, and each of the levers 41 of the Nos. 11 and III is locked out of operative contact with its respective cam 43 by a pin inserted in a hole or socket 75, Fig. 3, provided for the purpose in the machine-frame.

I claim 1. The combination with a series of connected printing-machines adapted to print a series of impressions on the same side, and the tripping-gear of such machines, of means in operative connection with the said tripping-gear, adapted to send impulses from the first tripping-gear to all the others in rotation, and means adapted to utilize these impulses for tripping in rotation all the machines after the first of the series.

2. The combination with a series of connected printing-machines adapted to print a series of impressions on the same side, and the tripping-gear of such machines, of means in operative connection with the said tripping-gear adapted to send impulses from the first tripping-gear to all the others in rotation, and means adapted to utilize these impulses for untripping in rotation, all the machines after the first of the series.

3. The combination with a series of connected printing-machines adapted to print a series of impressions on the same side, and the tripping-gear thereof, of means in operative connection with the said tripping-gear adapted to send impulses from the first tripping-gear to all the others in rotation, and means adapted to utilize these impulses for tripping and untripping in rotation, all the machines after the first of the series.

. 4:. The combination with a series of connected printing-machines adapted to print a series of impressions on the same side, of means in operative connection therewith adapted to send impulses from each such machine eXcepting the last one, to the next following it in the series, and means on each machine excepting the first one operated by these impulses to automatically trip and untrip the machines in rotation.

5. The combination with the trip-lever of a printing-machine, of a cam in operative connection therewith for rocking it about its axis of oscillation, ratchet-and-pawl mechanism operatively connected with the cam for intermittently rotating it and means in operative connection with the pawl for imparting to-and-fro motion thereto.

6. The combination with the trip-lever of a printing-machine, of a cam in operative connection therewith for rocking it about its axis of oscillation, two mutilated ratchet-wheels fast to the said cam, two pivoted pawls adapted to engage the respective ratchet-wheels in alternation, means in operative connection with the pawls for swinging them concentrically with the ratchet-wheels, and means in operative connection with the pawls adapted to alternately move the pawls into and out of gear with their respective ratchet-wheels.

7. The combination with the trip-lever of a printing-machine, of a cam in operative connection therewith for rocking it about its axis of oscillation, two mutilated ratchet-wheels fast to the said cam, two pivoted pawls adapted to engage the respective ratchet-wheels in alternation. means in operative connection with the pawls for swinging them concentrically with the ratchet-wheels, abutments fast to the pawls, a lever-arm adapted to engage the abutinents for turning the pawls upon their pivot, and means inoperative connection with the said lever-arm adapted to move it into and out of the path of the abutments.

8. The combination of a series of printingmachines, a line-shaft adapted to drive all of such machines, driving-gear in operative connection with the machines, and positive clutches adapted to connect all of the said gears with the line-shaft only when the machines are coordinate with each other to produce successive impressions in register with each other.

9. The combination with the trip-lever of a printing-machine, of a cam in operative connection therewith for rocking it about its axis of oscillation, two juxtaposed mutilated ratchet-wheels fast to the said cam, two pivoted pawls adapted to engage the respective ratchet-wheels in alternation,means for swinging them concentrically with the ratchetwheels, detents engaging the ratchet-wheels for preventing backward movement thereof, a brake-pulley fast to the cam and a brakeshoe adapted to bear on the brake-pulley.

10. The combination with the trip-lever of a printing-machine, of a camin operative connection therewith, for rocking it about its axis of oscillation, two juxtaposed mutilated ratchet-wheels fast to the said cam, an arm pivoted coaxially with the ratchet-wheels, two pawls pivoted to this arm and adapted to engage the respective ratchet-wheels in alternation, an arm and abutments fast to the pawls, a spring acting on this arm adapted to hold the pawlsin either of their operative positions, a lever-arm adapted to engage the IOO wheels, abutments fast to the pawls a leverarm adapted to engage the abutments for i turning the pawls upon their pivot, and means operatively connecting this lever-arm with the other of the above-named trip-levers and adapted to move the said lever-arm into and out of the path of the abutments.

In witness whereof l have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS M. NORTH.

Witnesses:

WM. SUTHERLAND ROBINSON, WVARwIoK HY \VILLIAMs. 

